“I’m sorry to intrude like this,” he said, his normally booming voice as soft as silk. Isabel’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t usually…well, I’ve never done this before because I’ve never had a woman in my house. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay.”
“Make sure I’m still here?” she asked with a smile. He grinned back ever so slightly.
“Yes, I suppose so, in a little way.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Sol.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I didn’t want to scare you off in the first two days you are here. I don’t want you to feel unwanted in any way. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He nodded, a satisfied look on his face. “So you were having trouble sleeping? I heard you moving around.”
She gave him her own nod. “Yes. I just woke up wide awake for no reason.”
“Don’t you hate it when that happens?” He shook his head.
“I do.”
“Would you like a glass of warm milk?”
Isabel felt a little sick to her stomach but kept her gagging inside. “I can’t think of anything I could possibly want less.” She gave him a grin when he looked confused. “Don’t like warm milk.”
“Brandy instead?”
She laughed softly. “Brandy instead. That will put me back to sleep instead of waking me up more like coffee would. But just one glass. I had three with dinner and that is beyond my scope. My head was spinning when I went to bed.”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t enough to keep you sleeping,” Solomon replied. “Usually it puts me right out. Then again, I’m standing here talking to you and I did imbibe some.” He shrugged and held his hand out to her. “Would you like to come with me or would you prefer to have your brandy out here?”
“It is a warm night, isn’t it?” Isabel asked, turning away from him and back to the railing. “I would love to drink it out here and perhaps talk for a bit.”
“We have no plans tomorrow. We can sleep in if we want.”
“You don’t have to go to work?”
“I have the supply store covered and the lumber mill always functions without my presence. It’s two da— well, one now—to the festival so I reckon I should get as much sleep as I can. I want to be energetic and sprightly when I’m there for those kids. It’s the children that enjoy it the most, you know.”
“I’m sure of that,” Isabel replied, nodding.
“I’ll be right back.”
She watched the big man leave with a pounding heart. He was such a compassionate man. She couldn’t see ever being afraid of him coming into her room again. Not that she wouldn’t share a room with him after they were married. She knew of some couples who agreed not to share the same room except on special occasions, because of sleeping habits. Like snoring.
Solomon was a big man. Isabel wondered if he snored.
The thought amused her and she pondered whether to bring up such a question. She didn’t think he would be offended by it. He would probably laugh.
By the time he came back with two glasses of brandy, she’d thought of several other questions she wanted to ask. They sat next to each other on a cushioned couch sitting against the railing and settled in comfortably.
“I hope this is to your liking,” Solomon said, looking around. “I don’t know how long you want to stay in your own room or when you’d like to get married but if this is comfortable for you, please take your time.”
She gazed at him, knowing full well what it was about him that made that dreadful Betty want to have him back. She immediately wished the woman hadn’t come to mind. She sighed and he gave her a sharp look.
“You are comfortable, aren’t you?” he asked. “I would hate to think you aren’t.”
“I’m comfortable,” she said quickly, wanting to reassure him of that fact. She didn’t want to bring up Betty so she kept her thoughts to herself. She couldn’t badger him about it. He’d already told her how he felt.
But now what would she do if he changed his mind? Would she even notice?
She thought she would most likely notice if he started giving Betty too much attention. Her heart squeezed and she looked off into the distance, hoping the darkness would conceal her blushing and the look of frustration she probably had on her face.
No such luck, Solomon picked up on the fact that something was bothering her. And he knew what it was.
“You’re worried about Betty, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to bother you with those insecurities, Sol,” she said abruptly. “I don’t want petty jealousy coming between us. Unless there’s a reason for it. And you’ve expressed that there isn’t. I’m going to take your word for it and try to nip that in the bud. I don’t want to come across as the jealous type. I never have been before.”
“You’ve been in a relationship before?” he asked before taking a sip of his brandy, looking over the rim at her. “I didn’t think you had.”
Isabel thought back on her teenage years before she began taking care of her mother.
“Well, I haven’t been,” she said, “but like all young women and probably men, too, I had my crushes. I was attracted to several boys at the schoolhouse. Unfortunately, expressed feelings at that age are sometimes fleeting. More for the boys, I noticed.” She gave him a sly smile. “You boys are very fickle if you know what I mean?”
Solomon laughed. “It’s been a long time since I was considered a boy by anyone other than the pastor. But I remember being a teenager, of course. It was only ten or so years ago. I remember it well.”
“But you had Betty, didn’t you?” Again, she regretted bringing the woman up. But it was too late. They were already in the conversation.
“I did. We were together from our early years, it is true. My feelings for her weren’t fleeting until she left. I reckon you could say it was her whose feelings were fleeting.”
“I’m sure that must have hurt you.”
Solomon was quiet for a moment. She could see him thinking about it. He took a sip from his glass and rested it back on his lap before saying, “I was really hurt, Izzy. More than I ever thought I could be. Maybe that’s why her being around here scares me. Makes me nervous, I should say. Not scared. That was the wrong word to use.”
“Why are you nervous?”
He turned his eyes to look directly at her. “I don’t want her to scare you away.”
Chapter 16
When Isabel woke up the next morning, she heard laughter and talking downstairs. She pictured Gertie and Solomon having a good time in the kitchen and hurried to get dressed so she could join them.
The moment she stepped out into the hallway, however, she noticed sounds that made her think it wasn’t just Solomon and Gertie. In fact, she caught the voice of another man in the dining room. She recognized it as belonging to Freddie.
Her heart was seized with dread when she realized that if there was a woman in there laughing with them, it probably wasn’t Gertie.
She stopped at a large framed mirror just outside the dining room, hanging over a small black side table that held pretty orange flowers in it. She patted her hair and ran her tongue over her teeth. She pressed her lips together and braced herself for what she was probably going to see when she went into the dining room.
She pushed the door open, her heart pounding like a drum. She was glad she’d prepared herself because her intuition had been spot on. Betty was standing in the kitchen side with Sol, hovering around him as he flipped eggs around in a pan.
It was Freddie who first noticed her. He was leaning on the table instead of sitting in a chair, his ankles and arms crossed. He was holding a coffee cup in one hand. He glanced over when she came through the door and she was surprised and pleased to see his face light up.
“Good morning, sunshine!” he said enthusiastically, standing up straight and coming toward her.
“Good morning, Freddie,” she replied. The pleasant feeling she got from him temporarily relieved her of her anxiety.
&
nbsp; It came back full swing when she glanced over to the kitchen side of the room and saw Betty had scooted away from Solomon but was still too close to him for Isabel’s comfort. She had a sickeningly sweet smile on her face when she greeted Isabel with a short, “G’morning.”
It was Solomon’s reaction that she wanted to see the most and he didn’t disappoint.
“Watch after the eggs for me while I talk to Izzy, Betty.” He didn’t even ask her. He told her. When he passed her by to come to Isabel, it appeared to irritate Betty but she did as she was told.
Isabel watched her reluctantly flip the eggs over and over, scrambling them good.
Solomon grabbed her in a warm hug. He looked at Freddie. “Keep her company for me, will you? While I talk to Izzy?”
“Of course!” Freddie responded, walking with light steps to the kitchen, where Isabel was happy to see the other woman smile at him when he approached. “Don’t burn them eggs, woman!” Freddie exclaimed, humor in his loud voice.
Solomon took her to the other side of the long dinner table and they sat down.
“I didn’t know they were coming,” Solomon said in a whisper, leaning toward her with his back to his company. “I’m sorry. I even asked Gertie not to come this morning because I wanted to make breakfast for you. I don’t want you to be afraid. This is exactly why I told you I was nervous she would scare you away. I can’t just make her leave. You do understand, don’t you?”
Isabel did understand. She knew Solomon was a compassionate man and didn’t want to hurt Betty’s feelings. She hoped he had already made up his mind and he seemed to express that he did. But seeing Betty around him still made Isabel feel bad inside. She didn’t want to feel jealous. She hated that feeling.
“I do understand,” she reassured him. “I just hope she understands that you aren’t on the market anymore. You are taken. Do you think she understands that?”
Solomon looked down at the table, his cheeks flushing. Isabel stared at him, her breath short and quick.
“I don’t know what she’s thinking, I’m sorry to say,” he responded. “We can only hope for as much maturity out of her as possible.”
“Okay, Sol. I trust you.”
He gazed at her for a moment before turning when Freddie said loudly, “Hey, your eggs are done, Sol. Want me to take them off the heat?”
“That would probably be the wise thing to do,” Solomon answered sarcastically. He gave Isabel a loving look before standing up and going back into the kitchen.
Isabel watched Betty as she remained where she was, looking up at Solomon with big eyes. Freddie glanced at Isabel, getting her attention. She could tell by the expression on his face that he knew exactly what was going on. She would venture to guess he even knew what she was feeling at that moment.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” he said, lifting one hand in a wave. “I’m gonna go talk to your future wife if you don’t mind.”
Solomon shook his head, lifting the pan to pour the eggs into a large bowl. He began cracking new eggs in the pan to cook up.
Isabel waited for Freddie to get to where she was sitting with her eyes on him instead of Betty. She didn’t think she could take much of Betty if she looked at her too much.
“You want to take a stroll around the house with me?” Freddie asked.
A small smile came to Isabel’s face and nodded. He offered her his elbow and she took it, standing up.
“We’re going to explore the house a little, Sol,” Freddie called over his shoulder.
“You have fun with that,” Solomon replied, glancing at them, giving both a big smile.
They left the room and just when they stepped out, Freddie said, “Oh, you should have gotten yourself a cup of coffee.”
Isabel’s chest was tight and anxious. She shook her head, giving him an intense look. “No, I don’t need any coffee right now. I’m awake enough. I didn’t expect company this morning at all.”
Freddie nodded, patting the hand she had around his elbow. “I’m sure you didn’t. I’m sorry we just showed up like this. Please accept my apology. I don’t think Betty will give you one so I’m going to. I’m sure you know it was her idea to come here. She…she still has feelings for Solomon.”
“I know. I can tell.”
Freddie sighed. “Anyone can tell. And her parents are the barrier between her and society. They keep her sheltered and give her everything she wants just as if she was still a child. She probably thinks if she asks them, they will make Solomon fall for her again. But he won’t.”
Isabel looked up at Freddie, taking note that he was a good-looking man in his own right. He was friendly and funny. “How do you know that?”
Freddie lifted his eyebrows and scanned her from head to toe. “And give up this? What man in their right mind would do that?”
Isabel laughed, a delighted feeling flowing through her. “Oh, Freddie, stop.”
“I know it’s hard for you because she came back at the same moment you came to be with Solomon. She’s really not a bad person at all. She’s just finicky and a little flighty. She’s like a teenager still in her mind. It’s because of her parents. Even though they sent her away for college, they continued to coddle her as if she was a baby. So she acts that way with everyone.”
“You don’t seem to mind her.”
Freddie gave her a cynical look. “I can’t help it. I’ll admit I’ve been in love with her since the beginning of her relationship with Sol. I’ve never stepped in the way, never told her how I feel. I can’t. I would never do that to him. He’s my best friend.”
“What about now? Now that she’s back and he’s taken? Will you say something now?”
Freddie turned her at the end of the hallway. “He give you a tour of the place?”
She looked around them, nodding. “Yes, he showed me where everything is. You’re changing the subject. Will you say something to Betty now that she’s back? You should. You’re a wonderful man, a gentleman, and you’re funny and smart and witty. All women love that.”
Freddie grinned wide. “Well, those are real nice words to hear this early in the morning. You’ve made my day. I insisted on coming with her, you know. I knew what it would do to you if she just showed up and started hanging all over Sol.”
“How did you even know she was coming?”
“I was outside on my porch, sweeping. Saw her walking by and asked where she was going. She said here, I said I was coming. She didn’t seem to mind and actually welcomed my company, I think. But once we got here and noticed Sol was up making breakfast while you were still in bed, she was delighted to get in some time with him.”
His voice sounded sarcastic but his face was still pleasant.
“You should say something to her,” Isabel said firmly. “She needs to know how you feel. It might keep her from doing something she will regret later. Her actions could anger Sol now and that isn’t good for anyone.”
Freddie nodded. “You’re right, it isn’t. But Sol and I won’t let her make you feel bad or unwanted, Izzy. Anytime you start feeling like that, you come find me if you can’t find Sol. I’ll be here for you.”
“I’m glad to have made such a wonderful friend here, Freddie. Thank you.”
“Anytime, my dear. I love having friends.”
Chapter 17
A Tender Moment Under the Stars: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book Page 10